UKRAINE has launched a devastating strike on Vladimir Putin’s home city St Petersburg.
Drones pierced Russian air defences and blitzed the oil terminal – sparking a huge blaze.
The night sky exploded in red and yellow as Ukraine hit a key data centre, a key 2,000ft-tall bridge in Russia’s tourist capital, and a heating and power plant.
One target was a major data centre linked to VK – Russia’s Facebook with reports of critical disruption to services, including cloud platforms.
Ukraine has attacked several data centres in recent weeks, after President Zelensky vowed to hit back at similar Russian strikes.
Nearby Nato state Finland was forced to impose flight curbs as Ukraine’s long-distance drones battered St Petersburg.
Giant explosions detonated in the city’s port, which could disrupt Donald Trump’s diesel deal with Putin.
The St Petersburg Oil Terminal has a capacity of 12.5 million tonnes per year.
Air defences shot down some drones, with debris igniting fires in high-rise apartment buildings in what appeared to be the biggest attack of the war on Russia’s second city.
Russian reports said more than 200 “enemy drones” were downed.
The St Petersburg governor said one person has been killed and five have been injured.
Russia has already reportedly called for retaliation using Putin’s Oreshnik hypersonic nuclear-capable “mega-missile”.
The massive Ukrainian strike came after Zelensky told Trump to “put more pressure on Putin, and not on us”.
Trump has demanded a halt to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil hubs.
Zelensky warned: “Russia is trying to create a blackout in Ukraine just before winter. Russia is trying to leave millions of our people without electricity and heating.
“Pressure is needed to stop this. American sanctions, a weakening of pressure on the aggressor, and financial rewards for Putin only encourage him to continue the attacks.
“We must not give up our positions and must try to end the war. End it, not give Putin every reason to continue it indefinitely.”
The Ukrainian leader said: “Putin wants to destroy us. He doesn’t respect us, our sovereignty, or our territorial integrity.
“He truly believes that we are not a country, not a nation.
“Do you really believe that he is satisfied with just the eastern part of our country?
“And why, when the full-scale invasion began, did he go to Kyiv? Is this about the Donbas?
“No, this is about the capital. Without a capital, there is no state.”
The last invasion on Putin’s hometown was in June when Ukraine unleashed a devastating long-range blitz.
Dramatic footage from the port city showed fireball blasts erupting as plumes of black smoke billowed over the St Petersburg Oil Terminal.
A nearby naval base of Kronstadt had also been targeted with up to four ships hit, according to Ukrainian media.
There were also reports of several people injured in the blasts.